Information processing system, non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored information processing program therein, information processing apparatus, and information processing method

ABSTRACT

Information about a plurality of participation rewards to be given upon participation in a game event during each unit period in a period in which the event is held, is presented to a user. An upper limit number of unit periods for giving, and the reward contents, are set in advance. In accordance with event participation, participation rewards corresponding to the unit periods in which the participation timings are included are given to the user. The event advancement status is updated on the basis of the event participation by each user. If an ending condition is satisfied, event advancement is ended. If the number of times the unit period has come until the end of the event since the start thereof is smaller than the upper limit number of unit periods in which the rewards can be given, at least one of non-given participation rewards is given to the user.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority to Japanese Patent Application No.2020-147680 filed on Sep. 2, 2020, the entire contents of which areincorporated herein by reference.

FIELD

The exemplary embodiments relate to information processing for providinga user with a game event that can be held over a plurality of unitperiods, and more specifically, relate to processing for giving a rewardof the game event to a user.

BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY

Conventionally, there has been known a game in which an in-game eventfor a limited time only is held. Among such games, there has been knowna game in which an event participation reward is given to a user once aday.

In a game as described above, the holding period of the event isgenerally set in advance, and it can be said that the user is providedwith an occasion to participate in the event until the scheduled endingdate of the holding period. Therefore, in such a game, a case where theevent is ended early has not been particularly taken into consideration.

Here, if the event has ended early, some of participation rewardsplanned to be given to users end up having no occasion to be given tousers and thus there is a possibility of leading to a result contrary tothe user's expectation. In particular, a user who is going toparticipate in the event every day might originally expect to be givenall the participation rewards. However, the user loses an occasion toparticipate in the event because of the early ending, and thus loses anoccasion to obtain some of the participation rewards, leading to aresult contrary to the user's expectation. Thus, there is room forimprovement from the standpoint of preventing loss of the user'sexpectation as described above.

Accordingly, an object of the exemplary embodiments is to provide aninformation processing system, a non-transitory computer-readablestorage medium having an information processing program stored therein,an information processing apparatus, and an information processingmethod that prevent loss of user's expectation for a reward planned tobe given, even if the event has ended early.

Configuration examples for achieving the above objects will be shownbelow.

One configuration example is an information processing system forproviding a user with a game event which can be held over a plurality ofunit periods, the information processing system performing updating,presenting, first giving, ending, and second giving. In the updating, anadvancement status of the game event is updated on the basis ofparticipation in the game event by the user or another user differentfrom the user. In the presenting, information about a plurality ofparticipation rewards is presented to the user, the plurality ofparticipation rewards being rewards to be given upon participation inthe game event during each of the unit periods in a period in which thegame event is held, the plurality of participation rewards being rewardsof which reward contents for at least two unit periods defined for apredetermined number of times in advance are set in advance irrespectiveof the advancement status. In the first giving, in accordance withparticipation in the game event by the user, the user is given theparticipation reward associated with the unit period in which a timingof the participation is included. In the ending, advancement of the gameevent is ended if the advancement status of the game event satisfies anending condition. In the second giving, if a number of times the unitperiod has come until the advancement status of the game event satisfiesthe ending condition since start of the game event is smaller than thepredetermined number of times, the user is given at least one ofnon-given rewards which are participation rewards having not been givento the user among the plurality of participation rewards.

According to the above configuration example, in a case where the eventhas ended with a period shorter than the originally scheduled holdingperiod and in fewer days than the upper limit number of times for givingthe rewards, at least one of rewards that have not been given among thepresented rewards can be given to the user. Thus, it is possible toprevent loss of expectation that the user has through presentation ofrewards beforehand, and prevent loss of motivation to participate in theevent. Therefore, also for the event that can be ended early, a user'smotivation to participate in this event can be maintained.

In another configuration example, in the second giving, the user isgiven the non-given rewards whose number is equal to a number by whichthe number of times the unit period has come until the advancementstatus satisfies the ending condition is smaller than the predeterminednumber of times.

According to the above configuration example, in a case where the eventhas ended early, the user is given the rewards whose number is equal toa number by which the number of times the unit period has come issmaller than the upper limit number of times for giving the rewards.Thus, it is possible to prevent loss of expectation of the user who hasexpected to be given the rewards.

In another configuration example, in the second giving, the user may begiven, among the non-given rewards, only the participation rewards thatcould not be given to the user even if the user participated for all theunit periods until the game event is ended.

According to the above configuration example, in a case where the eventhas ended early, the rewards for which all the users have lost occasionsto be given them can be given to the users. Thus, fairness among theusers can be kept. That is, in the unit periods in which the rewards canbe given, occasions for giving the rewards are equally provided to allthe users, and whether or not to participate is up to each user'sdiscretion or the like. Therefore, in such periods, the differencebetween a case where the reward is given and a case where the reward isnot given is not considered unfair. On the other hand, in a case wherethe event has ended while the number of times the unit period has comeis smaller than the upper limit number of times for giving the rewards,the rewards for the times corresponding to shortfall as compared to theupper limit number of times would be never given even if the user hasparticipated every day until the end of the event. Therefore, if onlythe rewards for which all the users have lost occasions to be given themare given to the users, it is possible to prevent loss of fairness amongthe users.

In another configuration example, in the second giving, at least one ofthe non-given rewards may be given also to the user who uses anapplication in which the game event can be performed, and who has neverparticipated in the game event during the holding period of the gameevent.

According to the above configuration example, even if a user has notparticipated in the event until the early end of the event, it can besaid that, if the event did not end early, the user might participate inthe event thereafter. Therefore, if some non-given rewards are givenalso to the user who has not participated in the event until the earlyend of the event, the user's expectation and fairness among the userscan be kept.

In another configuration example, when the user has participated in thegame event, the user may be given the participation rewards associatedwith the unit periods and determined on the basis of a number of theunit periods for which the user has ever participated in the game eventduring the holding period of the game event.

According to the above configuration example, on a user-by-user basis,the number of days on which each user has participated can be countedand the participation rewards for the user can be determined. Thus, itis possible to give the participation rewards in accordance with thenumber of times each user has actually participated in the event. Inthis way, it is possible to provide motivation to continue toparticipate in the event.

Another configuration example is an information processing system forproviding a user with a game event which can be held over a plurality ofunit periods, the information processing system performing updating,presenting, first giving, ending, and second giving. In the updating, anadvancement status of the game event is given on the basis ofparticipation in the game event by the user or another user differentfrom the user. In the presenting, information about a plurality ofparticipation rewards is presented to the user, the plurality ofparticipation rewards being rewards to be given upon participation inthe game event during each of the unit periods in a period in which thegame event is held, the plurality of participation rewards being rewardsfor which reward contents are set in advance irrespective of theadvancement status and an upper limit unit period number is set, theupper limit unit period number being a number of at least two unitperiods in which the participation rewards can be given in an entiretyof the period in which the game event is held. In the first giving, inaccordance with participation in the game event by the user, the user isgiven the participation reward associated with the unit period in whicha timing of the participation is included. In the ending, advancement ofthe game event is ended if the advancement status of the game eventsatisfies an ending condition. In the second giving, if a number oftimes the unit period has come until the advancement status of the gameevent satisfies the ending condition since start of the game event issmaller than the upper limit unit period number, the user is given atleast one of non-given rewards which are participation rewards havingnot been given to the user among the plurality of participation rewards.

According to the above configuration example, in a case where the eventhas ended with a period shorter than the originally scheduled holdingperiod and in fewer days than the upper limit number of times for givingthe rewards, at least one of rewards that have not been given among thepresented rewards can be given to the user. Thus, it is possible toprevent loss of expectation that the user has through presentation ofrewards beforehand, and prevent loss of motivation to participate in theevent.

According to the exemplary embodiments, expectation imparted to the userthrough presentation of participation rewards can be prevented frombeing lost because of early end of the event, and also loss ofmotivation to participate in the event can be prevented.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a non-limiting example of theentire configuration of an information processing system according toone exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a non-limiting example of the hardwareconfiguration of a server 101;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a non-limiting example of the hardwareconfiguration of an information processing terminal 102;

FIG. 4 shows a non-limiting example of a game screen;

FIG. 5 shows a non-limiting example of a game screen;

FIG. 6 illustrates a non-limiting example for giving participationrewards;

FIG. 7 illustrates a non-limiting example for giving participationrewards;

FIG. 8 is a memory map showing a non-limiting example of various datastored in a memory 112 of the server 101;

FIG. 9 shows a non-limiting example of the data structure of user data403;

FIG. 10 shows a non-limiting example of the data structure of event data404;

FIG. 11 shows a non-limiting example of the data structure ofparticipation reward information 424;

FIG. 12 is a memory map showing a non-limiting example of various datastored in a memory 122 of the information processing terminal 102;

FIG. 13 is a non-limiting example of a flowchart showing the details ofan event process (server-side event process) executed by the server 101;

FIG. 14 is a non-limiting example of a flowchart showing the details ofan event-holding process (server side);

FIG. 15 is a non-limiting example of a flowchart showing the details ofthe event-holding process (server side);

FIG. 16 is a non-limiting example of a flowchart showing the details ofan after-ending process (server side);

FIG. 17 shows a non-limiting example of the relationship of the value ofan event progress counter 406 and the number of remaining days;

FIG. 18 is a non-limiting example of a flowchart showing the details ofan event process executed by the information processing terminal 102;

FIG. 19 is a non-limiting example of a flowchart showing the details ofan event-holding process (terminal side); and

FIG. 20 is a non-limiting example of a flowchart showing the details ofan after-ending process (terminal side).

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF NON-LIMITING EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, one exemplary embodiment will be described. It is to beunderstood that, as used herein, elements and the like written in asingular form with a word “a” or “an” attached before them do notexclude those in the plural form. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagramillustrating a non-limiting example of the entire configuration of aninformation processing system according to the exemplary embodiment. Aninformation processing system 100 of the exemplary embodiment includes aserver 101 and a plurality of information processing terminals 102. Theserver 101 and each information processing terminal 102 are configuredto be able to communicate with each other via the Internet 103. In theexemplary embodiment, with such a configuration, information processingis executed. Hereinafter, a description will be given with gameprocessing as an example of the information processing. Specifically, itis assumed as an example that a game application is installed on theinformation processing terminal 102 and the game processing is executedwhile the information processing terminal 102 is communicating with theserver 101 as necessary.

[Hardware Configuration of Server]

Next, the hardware configuration of the server 101 will be described.FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a non-limiting example of thehardware configuration of the server 101. The server 101 includes atleast a processor 111, a memory 112, and a communication section 113.The processor 111 executes various programs for controlling the server101. In the memory 112, various programs to be executed by the processor111 and various kinds of data to be used by the processor 111 arestored. The communication section 113 connects to a network by means ofwired or wireless communication and transmits/receives predetermineddata to/from each information processing terminal 102 or another server(not shown).

[Hardware Configuration of Information Processing Terminal]

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a non-limiting example of thehardware configuration of the information processing terminal 102 inwhich game processing according to the exemplary embodiment is executed.Here, in the exemplary embodiment, for example, a smart device such as asmartphone or a tablet, a game apparatus such as a stationary gameapparatus or a hand-held game apparatus, a personal computer, or thelike is assumed as the information processing terminal 102. In thedescription of the exemplary embodiment, an information processingterminal (for example, a smartphone) including a display screen and atouch panel that are integrated with each other will be described as anexample. Therefore, input operations are mainly inputs to the touchpanel. However, in another exemplary embodiment, for input operation, aphysical controller connected to the information processing terminal 102wirelessly or via wire may be employed, or for example, an inputapparatus formed integrally with the information processing terminal 102may be employed.

In FIG. 3, the information processing terminal 102 includes a processor121, a memory 122, an operation section 123, a display section 124, anda communication section 125. The processor 121 executes later-describedgame processing or executes a system program (not shown) for controllingoverall operation of the information processing terminal 102, therebycontrolling operation of the information processing terminal 102. Theprocessor 121 may include a single processor or a plurality ofprocessors. In the memory 122, various programs to be executed by theprocessor 121 and various kinds of data to be used in the programs arestored. The memory 122 is, for example, a flash EEPROM or a hard diskdevice. The operation section 123 is an input device for receiving anoperation from a user, and in the exemplary embodiment, a touch panel ismainly assumed as the operation section 123. In another exemplaryembodiment, the operation section 123 may be various pointing devices,various press-type buttons, an analog stick, and the like. The displaysection 124 is typically a liquid crystal display device. Thecommunication section 125 connects to the network via wired or wirelesscommunication, to transmit/receive predetermined data to/from the server101.

[Outline of Game Processing in Exemplary Embodiment]

Next, the outline of game processing executed in the exemplaryembodiment will be described. The game processing assumed in theexemplary embodiment is processing relevant to an in-game event to beheld in a predetermined game application, and more specifically,processing relevant to giving of a reward of the event.

The game application assumed in the exemplary embodiment may be any gameas long as an in-game event as described later can be held in the game.The genre of the game application may be any genre, e.g., a role playinggame, a simulation game, an action game, or a puzzle game. In theexemplary embodiment, a case of simulation role playing game (SRPG) willbe described as an example. Each user can acquire a plurality of“characters” through a play of the SRPG. Then, in an in-game event asdescribed below, the acquired characters can be used.

Next, the outline of an in-game event (hereinafter, simply referred toas an event) assumed in the exemplary embodiment will be described. Thisevent is assumed to be a cooperative-type event in which a plurality ofusers participate and cooperate. For this event, for example, “one day”is defined as “unit period”, and a predetermined holding period is setto include a plurality of unit periods, and the event is held over theplurality of unit periods. Hereinafter, the “plurality of unit periods”are referred to as an event holding period. In the exemplary embodiment,one day that is a period from 0:00:00 to 23:59:59 is used as an exampleof the unit period. In the exemplary embodiment, it is assumed that theevent holding period is 10 days.

In the exemplary embodiment, it is assumed that a boss character calledan “event boss” shared in common by participants appears in the event.The purpose of this event (event ending condition) is to make the hitpoints (HP) of the event boss 0 during the event holding period. Eachuser participating in the event causes the user's own character toattack the boss character. Thus, the event boss can be damaged and theHP of the event boss can be decreased. As described above, in thisevent, each user participating in the event attacks the event bossindividually, to decrease the HP of the event boss shared in common bythe participants. Then, if the HP becomes 0 during the event holdingperiod, the goal of the event is achieved, and the event is ended atthis time. In addition, the event is ended also in a case where 10 dayswhich are the holding period have passed while the HP is still not 0.

The condition for ending the event is merely an example. In anotherexemplary embodiment, another condition is used as the event endingcondition. For example, the ending condition may be that a predeterminednumber of predetermined boss characters are defeated.

Next, event advancement in the exemplary embodiment will be exemplifiedwith reference to specific screen examples and operation examples. Inthe exemplary embodiment, first, the user can participate in the eventby performing a predetermined “event participating operation”. In theexemplary embodiment, the user can participate in the event a pluralityof times in the unit period. In another exemplary embodiment, there maybe a limitation on the number of times the user can participate in theevent. For example, the user may be allowed to participate in the eventonly once a day.

As an example of the event participating operation, in the exemplaryembodiment, a predetermined operation is performed on a game screenrelevant to the event. FIG. 4 shows an example of a game screen(hereinafter, referred to as event screen) relevant to the event in theexemplary embodiment. The event screen in FIG. 4 is displayed inaccordance with the user selecting an icon representing an “event” on ahome screen of the game application, for example. In the screen exampleshown in FIG. 4, an event information indication area 201, aparticipation reward presentation area 202, a participation button 203,and a return button 204 are displayed.

In the event information indication area 201, various information aboutthe event can be displayed. For example, an image of the event boss, animage of a character to be used in the event among characters that theplayer has, i.e., a character assigned for attacking the event boss, andthe like can be displayed.

In the participation reward presentation area 202, an image indicatingthe contents of participation rewards is displayed. The participationrewards will be described later.

The participation button 203 is a button for participating in the event.Specifically, a tap operation on the participation button 203corresponds to the event participating operation. In the exemplaryembodiment, the event participating operation also serves as anoperation for attacking the event boss. That is, the event participatingoperation includes an attack operation to the event boss. In addition,the event participating operation for one time corresponds to an attackfor one time. Then, by performing the event participating operation aplurality of times a day, it is possible to attack the event boss aplurality of times. When the event participating operation is performed,a scene in which the character that the user has set in advance as anattack member for the event boss attacks the event boss, and arepresentation indicating the value of the dealt damage, are displayed.The exemplary embodiment shows the example in which the eventparticipating operation serves also as an attack operation to the eventboss, but in another exemplary embodiment, the event participatingoperation need not serve also as such an attack operation. For example,in response to the event participating operation, the screen may beshifted to a separately prepared game screen for attacking the eventboss. For example, a game screen in which the event boss and the user'sown character appear in a predetermined game field may be displayed.Then, on this screen, the user may operate the own character and selecta desired attack method, to carry out an attack to the event boss.

Next, the return button 204 is a button for closing the event screen.

Next, the participation rewards indicated in the participation rewardpresentation area 202 will be described. In this event, a plurality ofrewards called “participation rewards” are prepared for the purpose ofpromoting user's participation in the event, etc. The participationrewards can be used in the game application in which the event is held.In the exemplary embodiment, SRPG is used as an example, and therefore,for example, equipment items such as weapons and armors, consumableitems such as recovery items, in-game currency, and the like that can beused in the game are prepared as the participation rewards. Besides,various characters and the like may be used as the participationrewards. Further, elements such as magic, skills, and specialtechniques, which can be learned by the player character so that theplayer character can advance the game advantageously, may be used as theparticipation rewards. Other than these, any elements that can be usedin the game application in which the event is held may be used as theparticipation rewards.

In this event, the participation reward is set for each unit period.More specifically, the participation reward is given only once a day. Inother words, in the exemplary embodiment, an upper limit is set on thenumber of times the participation reward is given in the unit period. Inthe exemplary embodiment, the example in which the participation rewardis given once a day is shown, but without limitation thereto, in anotherexemplary embodiment, the participation reward may be given up to threetimes a day, for example.

Regarding the timing of giving the participation reward, in theexemplary embodiment, the participation reward is given at a timing offirst-time participation in any unit period. In the unit period, theparticipation reward is not given for the second-time participation orlater. Therefore, in FIG. 4, when the event participating operation isperformed for the first time in the unit period, a pop-up indication 207as shown in FIG. 5 is displayed prior to display of attackrepresentation and the like as described above. The pop-up indication207 indicates that the participation reward is received with respect tothe event participating operation. Then, when the pop-up indication 207is closed by a predetermined operation, display of attack representationand the like as described above is started.

The exemplary embodiment shows the example in which the participationreward is given at the timing (almost at the same time) when the eventparticipating operation is performed, but the timing of giving theparticipation reward is not limited thereto. The participation rewardmay be given at a predetermined timing when a predetermined time haspassed since the timing when the event participating operation wasperformed. For example, the participation reward may be given at atiming when half a day has passed since the event participatingoperation was performed, or may be given after one day has passed.Alternatively, a configuration in which the participation reward is sentto a so-called “present box” and the user receives the participationreward at a desired timing, may be adopted.

In the exemplary embodiment, there is an upper limit on the number ofunit periods in which the participation rewards are given. In otherwords, an upper limit (hereinafter, upper limit unit period number) isset on the number of unit periods in which the participation rewards canbe given in the entire event holding period. The upper limit unit periodnumber is assumed to be two or more. In the exemplary embodiment, theupper limit unit period number is set to 5, as an example. That is, theparticipation rewards are set in advance for five times of the unitperiods (for five days in total). Therefore, not all the participationrewards prepared as described above are obtained in only one unit period(in this example, one day). In other words, it is necessary toparticipate in the event for at least the upper limit unit period numberof times, in order for the user to obtain all the participation rewards.In this way, it is possible to provide the user with a motivation toplay the event continuously over a plurality of unit periods.

Because of the presence of the upper limit unit period number asdescribed above, if any user is given the participation rewards for fivetimes, the user is not given the participation rewards any more evenwhen the user participates in the event in the subsequent unit periods.In the following description, the participation reward for thefirst-time participation is referred to as “participation reward A”, theparticipation reward for the second-time participation is referred to as“participation reward B”, the participation reward for the third-timeparticipation is referred to as “participation reward C”, theparticipation reward for the fourth-time participation is referred to as“participation reward D”, and the participation reward for thefifth-time participation is referred to as “participation reward E”. Thecontents of these participation rewards may be the same or may bedifferent. In the exemplary embodiment, it is assumed that the contentsof the participation rewards for five times are all different, as anexample. The number of contents in the participation reward for eachunit period may be any number. For example, the participation reward Amay be “three items A”, the participation reward B may be “five itemsB”, the participation reward C may be “one weapon C”, etc.

In the exemplary embodiment, the contents of the participation rewardsas described above are presented in advance so that the user can confirmthem. In the example shown in FIG. 4, the participation rewardscorresponding to the five unit periods are presented in theparticipation reward presentation area 202. In FIG. 4, participationreward images 206A to 206E corresponding to the participation reward Ato participation reward E described above are arranged in the horizontaldirection with the first one at the left end. The participation rewardimage 206A is displayed in a grayed out manner or with a check mark sothat it is indicated that the participation reward A has already beengiven.

As described above, each user participating in the event performs theevent participating operation on the event screen, to make an attack tothe event boss, and thus can decrease the HP of the event boss which isshared in common by the participating users. Here, as described above,the event is ended at the time when the HP of the event boss becomes 0,even before the final day of the event holding period passes. Therefore,for example, if the HP of the event boss becomes 0 on the third day fromthe start of the event and thus the event is ended, occasions forobtaining the participation rewards D and E for the fourth time and thefifth time among the participation rewards for five times are lost. Inother words, it can be said that the participation rewards D and E arerewards that will never be given to the user even if the user hasparticipated in the event every day until the event is ended since thestart of the event. As described above, the contents of theparticipation rewards are presented to the user on the event screen, andtherefore it is considered that, for example, the user who is going toparticipate in the event every day has expectation of obtaining all theparticipation rewards for five times. However, if a situation in whichthe event is ended early as described above has occurred, the result iscontrary to the expectation of this user, and this can lead the user tolose interest in the game and the event. Accordingly, in the exemplaryembodiment, in a case where the number of times the unit period has comeuntil the event is ended (i.e., the number of days from the start to theend of the event) is smaller than the upper limit unit period number,processing for giving the user the participation rewards D and E forwhich occasions for giving them have been lost is performed. Thus, aresult conforming to the above user's expectation can be obtained. Inaddition, in the exemplary embodiment, the participation rewards forwhich occasions for giving them have been lost are given to all theusers of the game application, including users (hereinafter,non-participant users) who have not participated in the event. As usedherein, the “users of the game application” are assumed to be users whohave signed up as users of the game application and whose user data arerecorded in the server 101, for example.

Several examples of patterns for giving the participation rewards asdescribed above in the exemplary embodiment will be described. Here, theholding period of the event is up to 10 days as described above, andtherefore, as a specific example, a case where the holding period isfrom August 1 to August 10 will be described. In addition, it is assumedthat participation rewards for five times are set as described above. Itis noted that a case where the HP of the event boss becomes 0 in fewerdays (in this example, 1 to 4) than the upper limit unit period number(in this example, 5) is referred to as “early defeat”. In addition, theparticipation reward for which a giving occasion has been lost and whichis thus a target to be separately given to the user, as described above,is referred to as “compensation target reward”, in the followingdescription. FIG. 6 shows, in a table format, the relationship of theday number from the start of the event, the corresponding unit period,the number of remaining days of the event, and compensation targetrewards when early defeat occurs, under the assumption that one userparticipates in the event every day. In the example shown in FIG. 6, ina case where early defeat has occurred at, for example, 15:00 on thefirst day (August 1) of the event being held, the participation rewardsB to E, i.e., the participation rewards for the second to fifth timesare compensation target rewards. In a case where early defeat hasoccurred at 15:00 on the third day (August 3) of the event being held,the participation rewards D to E, i.e., the participation rewards forthe fourth and fifth times are compensation target rewards. Defeat ofthe event boss on the fifth day or later is not regarded as “earlydefeat”. Therefore, in the period later than this, compensation targetrewards do not arise.

Next, FIG. 7 shows, in a table format, the relationship of a pluralityof users different in participation condition during the holding period,and given rewards in a case where early defeat occurs and in a casewhere early defeat does not occur. In the table, four users, i.e., usersA to D are shown as an example in the left column. The eventparticipation conditions of the users are different. The user Acorresponds to a case of participating on only the first day after theevent is started. The user B corresponds to a case of participating ononly the first and third days after the event is started. The user Ccorresponds to a case of participating every day until the event isended after the event is started. The user D corresponds to a case ofnot participating in the event. The middle column shows participationrewards eventually given in a case where early defeat has occurred, andthe right column shows participation rewards eventually given in a casewhere early defeat has not occurred. Here, as an example of earlydefeat, it is assumed that early defeat occurs on the third day from thestart of the event. In addition, as an example of the case where earlydefeat does not occur, it is assumed that the HP of the event bossbecomes 0 on the seventh day from the start of the event.

In FIG. 7, first, regarding the user A who has participated on only thefirst day, in a case where early defeat has occurred, the participationreward A is given for the participation on the first day (first time intotal). In addition thereto, the participation rewards D and Ecorresponding to participations for the fourth and fifth times are givenas compensation target rewards. Here, the reason why the participationrewards for the second and third times are not compensation targetrewards is that indeed the user A has been given occasions forparticipating on the second day and the third day from the start of theevent. In other words, participation rewards for which all the usershave lost occasions to be given them are regarded as compensationtargets. In this case, all the users have equally lost occasions toparticipate in the event for the participation rewards for the fourthand fifth times, and thus none of the users are given theseparticipation rewards. However, the participation rewards for the secondand third times could be given if the user A participated in the event,and some users such as the users B and C described later are given theparticipation rewards for the second and third times. Therefore, forexample, in a case where a user has not participated in the event eventhough there was an occasion to participate in the event, if theparticipation reward corresponding to the participation for that day isgiven to this user, there is a possibility that some users such as theuser C who has participated every day feel a sense of unfairness or thelike among the users. Therefore, in the exemplary embodiment, onlyparticipation rewards for which all the users have lost occasions to begiven them are given as compensation target rewards to all the users.

On the other hand, in a case where early defeat has not occurred, theuser A is given only the participation reward A for the participation onthe first day. This is because the user A participated only once on thefirst day even though the user A was given participation occasions forseven times (seven days) during the event holding period.

Next, regarding the user B who participated on only the first and thirddays, in a case where early defeat has occurred, the participationreward A for the participation on the first day is given. Further, theparticipation reward B for the participation on the third day(second-time participation in total) is given. In addition thereto, theparticipation rewards D and E corresponding to participations for thefourth and fifth times are given as compensation target rewards, for thesame reason as described above. On the other hand, in a case where earlydefeat has not occurred, only the participation rewards A and B aregiven because the user B has participated only twice among the sevendays until the end of the event.

Next, regarding the user C who has participated in the event every dayuntil the HP of the boss becomes 0, in a case where early defeat hasoccurred, the participation rewards A to C are given for theparticipations for the first to third times, and the participationrewards D and E are given as compensation target rewards. On the otherhand, in a case where early defeat has not occurred, the participationrewards A to E are given for the participations for the first to fifthtimes. That is, the participation rewards D and E in this case are notcompensation target rewards.

Next, regarding the user D who has not participated in the event, in acase where early defeat has occurred, the participation rewards D and Eare given as compensation target rewards. On the other hand, in a casewhere early defeat has not occurred, there are no compensation targetrewards arising, and therefore any participation rewards are not given.

[Details of Game Processing in Exemplary Embodiment]

Next, with reference to FIG. 8 to FIG. 21, processing relevant to theevent in the exemplary embodiment will be described in more detail.Here, processing relevant to the event and giving of the participationrewards as described above will be mainly described, while descriptionof other game processing is omitted.

[Used Data]

First, various data to be used for the processing in the exemplaryembodiment will be described. First, data used in the server 101 will bedescribed. FIG. 8 is a memory map showing an example of various datastored in the memory 112 of the server 101. The memory 112 of the server101 stores a server-side program 401, a user database 402, event data404, item master data 405, an event progress counter 406, and the like.

The server-side program 401 is a program for executing a gameapplication in the exemplary embodiment. The program includes codes forexecuting an event process according to the exemplary embodiment.Besides, the program also includes codes for executing a log-in processfor a user, a process for transmitting predetermined user data 403included in the user database 402 to the information processing terminal102 or receiving such data, and the like.

The user database 402 is a database of collection of data about userswho play the game application according to the exemplary embodiment. Inthe exemplary embodiment, the user database 402 is a database in whicheach user data 403 as shown in FIG. 9 is stored as one record. After alog-in process is performed, the information processing terminal 102performs a process of acquiring the user data 403 corresponding to theuser from the server 101, and the like, as necessary.

With reference to FIG. 9, the data structure of the user data 403 willbe described. The user data 403 shown in FIG. 9 includes a user ID 411,attack operation history information 412, participation reward givinghistory information 413, compensation target reward giving information414, possessed item data 415, possessed character data 416, and thelike. The user ID 411 is an ID for uniquely identifying each user. Inthe attack operation history information 412, a history of dates andtimes when the user performed an attack operation to an event boss ineach event is recorded in a discriminable manner on an event basis. Theparticipation reward giving history information 413 is informationindicating the history of giving of the participation rewards to theuser. That is, this information indicates for what times theparticipation rewards have already been given. This information is alsorecorded in a discriminable manner on an event basis. In thecompensation target reward giving information 414, information aboutwhether or not a compensation target reward has been given, and thecontent thereof, are recorded on an event basis. The possessed item data415 is information indicating an in-game item that the user has. Thepossessed character data 416 is information indicating the characterthat the user has. Besides, although not shown, the user data 403includes data (so-called saved data) indicating the game advancementstatus, information about each user such as an individual user accountname, and the like.

With reference to FIG. 8 again, the event data 404 is data defined withrespect to the in-game event. FIG. 10 shows an example of the datastructure of the event data 404. The event data 404 is table-format datain which elements such as an event ID 421, a holding status 422, holdingschedule information 423, participation reward information 424, aninitial HP 425, and a present HP 426 are stored as each record. Eachrecord in the event data 404 can be added, changed, or deleted by a gameapplication administrator or the like as necessary.

The event ID 421 is an ID for uniquely identifying the in-game event.The holding status 422 is information indicating in which state theevent is, “before started”, “being held”, or “ended”. The holdingschedule information 423 is information defining the event start dateand the event end date. It is noted that, as described above, in a casewhere early defeat occurs, the event can be ended earlier than the enddate defined here.

The participation reward information 424 is data defining the contentsof the participation rewards for each event. In the example of theexemplary embodiment, the participation rewards for five times and thecontents thereof are defined. FIG. 11 shows an example of the datastructure of the participation reward information 424 in the exemplaryembodiment. As shown in FIG. 11, the participation reward information424 is table-format data formed by a giving count number 431 and areward content 432. In the example shown in FIG. 11, information aboutin-game items as the reward contents and the numbers of the in-gameitems to be given is defined for the respective times from the firsttime to the fifth time. As a matter of course, the rewards are notlimited to in-game items, and in-game currency may be defined as thereward.

With reference to FIG. 10 again, the initial HP 425 is data defining theinitial HP of the event boss. The present HP 426 is data indicating thepresent HP of the boss in each event. The present HP 426 is decreasedfrom the value of the initial HP 425 in accordance with attacks fromparticipant users. When the value of the present HP 426 has finallybecome 0, the event boss is defeated and processing for ending the eventis performed.

Besides, although not shown, the event data 404 includes data definingimages of event bosses, attack methods thereof, and the like,information defining event ending conditions, and various other data tobe used for holding the event.

With reference to FIG. 8 again, the item master data 405 is datadefining all in-game items in the game application of the exemplaryembodiment. Predetermined in-game items selected from this data can bedefined as the participation rewards.

The event progress counter 406 is data used for managing the progressstatus of the in-game event in the process according to the exemplaryembodiment. Specifically, the initial value is set to 1, and the eventprogress counter 406 is incremented by 1 as a predetermined periodpasses from the start of the event. In the exemplary embodiment, it isassumed that the above period for increment is defined as “one day”which is the same as the unit period. That is, every time 24 hours havepassed since the start of the event, the event progress counter 406 isincremented by 1. In another exemplary embodiment, the period forincrement may be set to 6 hours, so that the event progress counter 406is incremented by 4 per one day. In the exemplary embodiment, using thiscounter, the event holding period can be managed in a state of beingdivided into terms on a several-hour basis, and the number of remainingdays of the event and the like can be recognized.

Besides, various data necessary for holding the event and performing thegame processing are stored in the memory 112 of the server 101.

Next, various data stored in the memory 122 of the informationprocessing terminal 102 will be described. FIG. 12 is a memory mapshowing an example of various data stored in the memory 122 of theinformation processing terminal 102. The memory 122 of the informationprocessing terminal 102 stores a terminal-side game program 501, imagedata 502, log-in data 503, operation data 504, working data 505, and thelike.

The terminal-side game program 501 is a program for executing the gameapplication according to the exemplary embodiment. The program alsoincludes codes for executing the process relevant to the event asdescribed above.

The image data 502 is data of various images to be displayed in the gameapplication including the event.

The log-in data 503 includes various data necessary for logging in thegame application of the exemplary embodiment.

The operation data 504 is data indicating the contents of variousoperations performed on the operation section 15. In the exemplaryembodiment, the operation data 504 includes information about whether ornot an input is performed on the touch panel as the operation section15, data indicating the touch coordinates and the like, and dataindicating the press statuses of various buttons (not shown) and thelike.

The working data 505 includes various data that are temporarily used inthe process relevant to the event. In execution of the game processing,such data can be generated and stored appropriately as necessary.

[Details of Processing of Server 101]

Next, the details of the event process according to the exemplaryembodiment will be described. First, the details of the event processexecuted by the server 101 will be described. Here, as an example, it isassumed that one event is being held at present, i.e., the event startdate thereof has come or passed. More specifically, the eventcorresponding to the record whose event ID 421 is “0002” in FIG. 10 willbe described as an example. Regarding changing of the holding status 422from “before started” to “being held”, the processor 111 may determinewhether or not the event start date has come, on the basis of thepresent date and time and the holding schedule information 423. Then, ifthe event start date has come, the processor 111 may perform processingof changing the holding status 422 from “before started” to “being held”as appropriate.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing the details of the event process(server-side event process) executed by the server 101. First, in stepS11 in FIG. 13, the processor 111 refers to the holding status 422, anddetermines whether the event is being held or the event has ended. Ifthe event is being held (YES in step S11), in step S12, the processor111 executes an event-holding process (server side). On the other hand,if the event has ended (NO in step S11), in step S13, the processor 111executes an after-ending process (server side).

[Server-Side Process while Event is being Held]

FIG. 14 and FIG. 15 are flowcharts showing the details of theevent-holding process (server side) in step S12. It is noted that aprocessing loop from step S21 to step S28 in this process is repeated ata predetermined processing cycle. In performing the process shown inFIG. 14 and FIG. 15, a notification that the event is being held may besent to the information processing terminal 102 as necessary. In FIG.14, first, in step S21, the processor 111 determines whether or notparticipation instruction data transmitted from the informationprocessing terminal 102 has been received. It is noted that theparticipation instruction data is data sent to the server 101 inresponse to the participation button 203 being operated in theinformation processing terminal 102. As a result of the determination,if the participation instruction data has not been received (NO in stepS21), the processing is repeated until the participation instructiondata is received. On the other hand, if the participation instructiondata has been received (YES in step S21), in step S22, the processor 111specifies the user at the transmission source of the participationinstruction data.

Next, in step S23, the processor 111 determines whether or not it ispossible to give a participation reward for the unit period in which theparticipation instruction data is transmitted. Specifically, theprocessor 111 refers to the participation reward giving historyinformation 413 for the user, and determines whether or not theparticipation reward has already been given to the user in the presentunit period. As a result of the determination, if the participationreward for the present unit period has not been given yet (YES in stepS23), this means that it is possible to give the participation reward.In this case, in step S24, the processor 111 determines the content ofthe participation reward to be given, on the basis of the participationreward information 424. Then, the processor 111 gives the determinedparticipation reward to the user. Specifically, the processor 111 addsthe participation reward to the possessed item data 415 of thecorresponding user. Then, the process proceeds to step S25, to shift toexecution of the game processing. On the other hand, as a result of thedetermination, if the participation reward for the present unit periodhas already been given (NO in step S23), the processing in step S24 isskipped, to proceed to the next processing.

Next, in step S25 in FIG. 15, the processor 111 transmits data relevantto the present event boss, to the information processing terminal 102that has transmitted the above participation instruction data.Specifically, the processor 111 transmits the relevant data, includingthe value of the present HP 426, to the information processing terminal102. In the information processing terminal 102, game processing basedon the data transmitted here is executed as described later, and dataindicating the result thereof is transmitted to the server 101.

Next, in step S26, the processor 111 determines whether or not theresult data of the game processing has been received from theinformation processing terminal 102. As a result, if the result data hasnot been received yet (NO in step S26), the process for receiving theresult data is repeated to wait until the result data is transmitted. Onthe other hand, if the result data has been received (YES in step S26),next, in step S27, the processor 111 updates the value of the present HP426 on the basis of the result data. That is, the processor 111 executesprocessing of decreasing the HP of the event boss in accordance with theresult of user's attack to the event boss.

Next, in step S28, whether or not the present HP 426 of the event bosshas become 0 is determined. As a result, if the present HP 426 has notbecome 0 yet (NO in step S28), the process returns to step S21, torepeat the process. On the other hand, if the present HP 426 has become0 (YES in step S28), the event being held is to be ended, i.e., in stepS29, the processor 111 sets the holding status 422 to a value indicating“the event is ended”. Then, the event-holding process (server side) isended.

[Process of Server 101 after Event is Ended]

Next, an after-ending process (server side) in step S13 in FIG. 13 willbe described. FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing the details of theafter-ending process (server side). First, in step S41, the processor111 specifies the number of days until the HP of the event boss hasbecome 0, and determines whether or not early defeat as described abovehas occurred. The determination may be performed by any method. In theexemplary embodiment, the determination is performed as follows. First,the processor 111 acquires the value of the event progress counter 406.Then, the processor 111 calculates the number of remaining days of theevent under the assumption that the event is held until the final day.As described above, in the exemplary embodiment, every time 24 hourshave passed since the start of the event, the event progress counter 406is incremented by 1. In this case, the progress counter value issubtracted from the maximum number of days during which the event isheld (in this example, 10), whereby the number of remaining days underthe assumption that the event is held until the final day of the holdingperiod is calculated. For reference, FIG. 17 shows, in a table format,the relationship of the value of the event progress counter 406 and thenumber of remaining days. In the example shown in FIG. 17, for example,in a case of the third day from the start of the event, the value of theevent progress counter 406 is 3, and the number of remaining days underthe assumption that the event is held until the final day is 7.

After the number of remaining days of the event is calculated asdescribed above, whether or not the number of remaining days is greaterthan the upper limit unit period number (in this example, 5) isdetermined. That is, the processor 111 determines whether or not numberof remaining days>upper limit unit period number is satisfied. Then, ifthis condition is satisfied, it is determined that early defeat hasoccurred, or if the condition is not satisfied, it is determined thatearly defeat has not occurred.

With reference to FIG. 16 again, as a result of the determination ofstep S41, if it is determined that early defeat has occurred (YES instep S41), next, in step S42, the processor 111 determines whether ornot the compensation target reward has already been given. As a result,if the compensation target reward has already been given (YES in stepS42), the process proceeds to step S45 described later.

On the other hand, if the compensation target reward has not been givenyet (in other words, in a case where the after-ending process isexecuted for the first time after the event is ended), in step S43, theprocessor 111 specifies the participation reward that should be thecompensation target reward as described above. This may be specified byany method. For example, it is assumed that early defeat has occurred onthe fourth day (in this example, August 4) from the start of the event.In this case, under the assumption that the event participation rewardsuntil the fourth time have already been given, the event participationreward for the fifth time is specified as the compensation targetreward. For example, the number of event participation rewards assumedto have already been given is calculated by subtracting the number ofremaining days from the maximum number of days during which the event isheld. In a case where early defeat has occurred on August 4, calculationis performed as 10−6=4. In this case, it is considered that givingoccasions until the fourth time have been provided to each user, andthus only the event participation reward for the fifth time is specifiedas the compensation target reward. That is, event participationoccasions until the fourth day have been provided to all the users, butall the users have lost an event participation occasion for theparticipation reward for the fifth time and thus the giving occasionthereof is also lost. Therefore, the participation reward for the fifthtime is determined as the compensation target reward. Similarly, forexample, in a case where early defeat has occurred on the third day (inthis example, August 3) from the start of the event, the participationrewards for the fourth and fifth times are determined as thecompensation target rewards.

Next, in step S44, the processor 111 executes processing of giving thedetermined compensation target reward to all the users of the gameapplication. That is, irrespective of whether or not each user hasparticipated in the event, the processor 111 executes processing ofadding the compensation target reward to the possessed item data 415 foreach user. Further, the processor 111 records information indicating theaddition date and time and the reward content in the compensation targetreward giving information 414.

On the other hand, as a result of the determination of step S41, ifearly defeat has not occurred (NO in step S41), the processing in stepS42 to S44 is skipped, to proceed to the next processing.

Next, in step S45, the processor 111 determines whether or not aninquiry for whether or not the event is being held has been receivedfrom any of the information processing terminals 102. If the inquiry hasbeen received (YES in step S45), in step S46, the processor 111transmits information indicating that the event has ended, to theinformation processing terminal 102 which is the inquiry source. On theother hand, if the inquiry has not been received (NO in step S45), theafter-ending process (server side) is ended. Therefore, the process ofthe server 101 after the event is ended is substantially a process ofmerely sending a reply that the event has ended in response to theinquiry about holding of the event from the information processingterminal, if giving of the compensation target reward is finished.

[Process of Information Processing Terminal 102]

Next, the details of the event process executed by the informationprocessing terminal 102 will be described. FIG. 18 is a flowchartshowing the details of the event process executed by the informationprocessing terminal 102. Execution of this process is started when apredetermined operation for shifting to an event screen is performed,e.g., an “event” icon placed on a home screen of the game application istapped by the user. In step SM in FIG. 18, first, the processor 121determines whether the event is being held or the event has ended. Thedetermination may be performed by any method. For example, processing ofinquiring the server 101 whether or not the event is being held may beperformed, and whether or not the event is being held may be determinedon the basis of the reply result. Alternatively, calendar data in whichthe event holding schedule is defined may be acquired from the server101, and then may be compared with the present date and time, to makethe determination. In this case, if the present time and date areincluded in the event holding schedule, then, the processor 121 mayinquire the server 101 whether or not the event boss has any HPremaining. If the event boss has any HP remaining, it is determined thatthe event is being held, or if the HP is 0, it is determined that theevent has ended. As a result of the determination, if the event is beingheld (YES in step S51), in step S52, the processor 121 executes anevent-holding process (terminal side). On the other hand, if the eventhas ended (NO in step S51), in step S53, the processor 121 executes anafter-ending process (terminal side).

[Terminal-Side Process while Event is being Held]

FIG. 19 is a flowchart showing the details of the event-holding process(terminal side) in step S52. In FIG. 19, first, in step S61, theprocessor 121 generates an event screen as shown in FIG. 4.Specifically, the processor 121 generates an image to be displayed inthe participation reward presentation area 202, on the basis of theparticipation reward information 424 acquired from the server 101.Further, the processor 121 generates an image to be displayed in theevent information indication area 201, as appropriate, and combinesthese images to generate an event screen as shown in FIG. 4. Then, theevent screen is outputted to the display section 124.

Next, in step S62, the processor 121 acquires the operation data 504 anddetermines whether or not the event participating operation (tapping onthe participation button 203) has been performed. As a result of thedetermination, if the event participating operation has been performed(YES in step S62), next, in step S63, the processor 121 generates theparticipation instruction data for indicating that the eventparticipating operation has been performed, and transmits theparticipation instruction data to the server 101. The participationinstruction data includes information indicating that the eventparticipating operation has been performed, various information (networkaddress, etc.) for specifying the transmission source (i.e., the hostterminal), information indicating the operation date and time, and thelike. As previously described, in the server 101, determination as tothe necessity of giving the participation reward and processing ofgiving the participation reward are performed as appropriate inaccordance with the received participation instruction data.

Next, in step S64, the processor 121 determines whether or not theparticipation reward has been given for the event participatingoperation performed at this time. That is, the processor 121 determineswhether or not the event participating operation has been performed forthe first time in the present unit period. The determination may beperformed by any method. In the exemplary embodiment, the processor 121acquires the participation reward giving history information 413 at thistime from the server 101, and on the basis of this, determines whetheror not the participation reward has already been given in the presentunit period. In another exemplary embodiment, a notification that theparticipation reward has been given for the event participatingoperation may be sent from the server 101 to the information processingterminal 102, and through determination as to whether or not thenotification has been received, the information processing terminal 102may determine whether or not the participation reward has been given.

As a result of the determination of step S64, if the participationreward has been given for the event participating operation at this time(YES in step S64), in step S65, the processor 121 generates the pop-upindication 207 as shown in FIG. 5 and displays the pop-up indication 207on the display section 124. On the other hand, if the participationreward has not been given for the event participation reward at thistime (i.e., the participation reward was already given) (NO in stepS64), the processing in step S65 is skipped, to proceed the nextprocessing.

Next, in step S66, the processor 121 receives data about the event bossat this time from the server 101, and executes game processing based onthe data. Specifically, the processor 121 calculates the value of thedealt damage to the event boss. In another exemplary embodiment, in thegame processing, processing of displaying a predetermined game screenand allowing the user to operate the player character may be performed.Also in this case, processing of calculating the value of the dealtdamage to the event boss on the basis of the user's operation content,is performed. In the exemplary embodiment, it is assumed that the valueof the dealt damage is calculated on the information processing terminal102 side. However, in another exemplary embodiment, the value of thedealt damage may be calculated on the server 101 side. In this case, thecalculation result may be transmitted to the information processingterminal 102, and processing of displaying an attack representationbased on the result may be performed in the game processing on theinformation processing terminal side.

Next, in step S67, the processor 121 generates game processing resultdata, including the value of the dealt damage. Then, the processor 121transmits the game processing result data to the server 101.

Next, in step S68, the processor 121 generates a message or the likeindicating that an attack to the event boss has finished, and displaysthe message or the like on the display section 124. Then, when apredetermined operation for making an instruction to end the display ofthe message is performed, the process returns to step S61, to repeat theprocess.

Next, as a result of the determination of step S62, a case where theevent participating operation has not been performed (NO in step S62)will be described. In this case, in step S69, the processor 121determines whether or not an operation of ending the event screen hasbeen performed. As a result of the determination, if the endingoperation has not been performed (NO in step S69), the process returnsto step S61, to repeat the process. On the other hand, if the endingoperation has been performed (YES in step S69), the event-holdingprocess (terminal side) is ended.

[Process of Information Processing Terminal 102 after Event is Ended]

Next, the after-ending process (terminal side) in step S53 in FIG. 18will be described. FIG. 20 is a flowchart showing the details of theafter-ending process (terminal side). First, in step S81, the processor121 determines whether or not the compensation target reward has beengiven for the event that has ended at this time. This can be determinedby acquiring the compensation target reward giving information 414 fromthe server 101 and referring thereto. As a result of the determination,if the compensation target reward has been given (YES in step S81), instep S82, the processor 121 generates a message indicating that thecompensation target reward has been received, as appropriate, anddisplays the message on the display section 124. On the other hand, ifthe compensation target reward has not been given (NO in step S81), theprocessing in step S82 is skipped.

Next, in step S83, the processor 121 generates a message or the likeindicating that the event has ended, and displays the message or thelike on the display section 124. Then, when a predetermined operationfor ending this screen is performed, the event after-ending process isended.

As described above, in the exemplary embodiment, the participationrewards are prepared in the event in which the participants cooperate todefeat the boss whose HP is dealt with in common by the participants.The participation reward is a reward to be given for the user havingparticipated in the game event during each unit period in the period inwhich the game event is held. For the participation reward, the upperlimit number of unit periods in which the participation rewards can begiven in the entire period in which the game event is held, is set. Thereward contents are presented to the user in advance. Then, if thenumber of times the unit period has come until the end of the game eventsince the start of the game event is smaller than the upper limit numberof unit periods, at least some of non-given rewards which are theparticipation rewards that have not been given to the user are given tothe user. In other words, even though the user has expected to be giventhe above presented rewards, the event goal might be achieved in fewerdays than the upper limit number of unit periods in which the rewardscan be given, so that the event might be ended. In this case, therewards for which occasions for giving them are lost due to such earlyending are given to the user. Thus, it is possible to prevent loss ofthe user's expectation that the participation rewards will be given.

[Modifications]

The above exemplary embodiment has shown the case of decreasing the HPof the event boss shared in common by the participants, as an example ofthe event. However, in another exemplary embodiment, the value of apredetermined parameter of the event boss may be increased through apredetermined operation corresponding to the attack operation. Then, ifthe value of the parameter exceeds a predetermined value set as an eventending condition, it may be determined that the event ending conditionis satisfied. Further, the way of advancing the event is not limited tosuch a manner of attacking the event boss as described above. The way ofadvancing the event may be any way, as long as a predetermined parameterto be dealt with in common by the participants is changed throughprocesses based on the respective participants' operations, and when theparameter satisfies a predetermined condition, the event is ended evenif a scheduled ending date set in advance has not come yet.

Regarding the contents of participation rewards, the example in whichthe contents of participation rewards are determined in accordance withthe number of days on which the user has participated during the event,has been shown. In another exemplary embodiment, the participationrewards may be determined in accordance with the dates, instead of thenumber of participation days as described above. For example, theparticipation reward for “August 1” may be defined as participationreward A, and the participation reward for “August 2” may be defined asparticipation reward B. In this case, for example, it is assumed thatthe user A participates in the event for the first time on August 1, andthe user B participates in the event for the first time on August 2. Inthis case, both players participate in the event for the first day intotal, but the reward contents to be given for the respectiveparticipations are different from each other. That is, with respect toparticipation in the event for the first day in total, the participationreward A is given to the user A, and the participation reward B is givento the user B. In addition, in this case, the compensation targetrewards when early defeat has occurred are participation rewards definedin association with the next and subsequent dates after the day when theearly defeat has occurred.

The above exemplary embodiment has shown the example in which theparticipation rewards for which all the users have lost occasions to begiven them because of early defeat are regarded as compensation targetrewards. In another exemplary embodiment, only some of suchparticipation rewards, instead of all of them, may be regarded ascompensation target rewards. For example, with reference to the aboveexemplary embodiment, even in a case where early defeat has occurred onthe third day from the start of the event, only the participation rewardE for the fifth time in total may be regarded as a compensation targetreward.

The above exemplary embodiment has shown the example in which theparticipation reward for the day when early defeat has occurred is notregarded as a compensation target. In another exemplary embodiment, theparticipation reward for the day when early defeat has occurred may alsobe included as the compensation target reward. In this case, only theusers who have not been given the participation reward for the day whenthe early defeat has occurred may be given this reward as a compensationtarget, so that the users who have already been given this reward willnot be given again.

Further, regarding the compensation target rewards, not only theparticipation rewards for which all the users have lost occasions to begiven them but also non-given rewards that have not been given on auser-by-user basis may be included as the compensation target rewards.For example, it is assumed that the user A has participated three timesin total and have already been given the participation rewards A to C,and the user B has participated only once in total and has been givenonly the participation reward A. In this case, under the above exemplaryembodiment, the participation rewards D and E for the fourth and fifthtimes are regarded as compensation targets, but without limitationthereto, in another exemplary embodiment, for the user B, theparticipation rewards B and C which are non-given participation rewardsmay be included as compensation targets. Further, in this case, onlysome of the non-given rewards, instead of all of them, may be given.

The above exemplary embodiment has shown the example in which thecompensation target rewards are given also to the users who have notparticipated in the event. However, in another exemplary embodiment, anon-participant user who has never participated in the event may beexcluded from targets to which the compensation target rewards are to begiven. That is, the compensation target rewards may be given to only theusers who have participated in the event at least once.

The main units for executing the above-described processes are notlimited to the above configurations. For example, in the informationprocessing system, the server-side system may be composed of a pluralityof information processing apparatuses and the processes to be executedon the server side may be executed by the plurality of informationprocessing apparatuses in a shared manner. In addition, for example, thedata other than the terminal-side game program 501 and the operationdata 505 may be stored in the server 101, and the information processingterminal 102 may access the server 101 to refer to the data, asnecessary. In this case, for example, the information processingterminal 102 may send the operation data 505 indicating a user'soperation to the server 101, the server 101 may execute various gameprocesses accordingly, and the information processing terminal 102 mayreceive a result of the execution, and generate and display a gamescreen in which the execution result is reflected.

While the exemplary embodiments have been described herein, it is to beunderstood that the above description is, in all aspects, merely anillustrative example, and is not intended to limit the scope thereof. Itis to be understood that various modifications and variations can bemade without deviating from the scope of the exemplary embodiments.

What is claimed is:
 1. An information processing system for holding agame event in a virtual game space of a video game in which multipleusers participate, the processing system comprising a processor and amemory coupled thereto, the processor being configured to control theprocessing system to at least: receive, from different ones of aplurality of computing devices that are associated with different onesof the multiple users, game event data that indicates how a respectiveuser has participated in the virtual game space for the video game forthe game event; update an advancement status for the game event of thevideo game based on the game event data that has been received, the gameevent being held over a plurality of unit periods that are tracked forthe video game; cause participation data to be communicated to theplurality of computing devices, the participation data includinginformation about a plurality of participation rewards to be given basedon participation by individual ones of the multiple users in the gameevent during different ones of the plurality of unit periods over whichthe game event is held, wherein each of the plurality of participationrewards are game elements that are usable within the video game byrespective ones of the multiple users; in accordance with participationin the game event by a first user of the multiple users, give the firstuser one of the plurality of participation rewards that is associatedwith the unit period, of the plurality of unit periods, in which atiming of the participation by the first user is associated therewith;determine whether the game event satisfies a first ending condition or asecond ending condition; determine that the first ending condition forthe game event is satisfied and based thereon, end advancement of thegame event; and when the first ending condition remains unsatisfied,determine that the second ending condition for the game event issatisfied and based thereon, give a second user at least one of theplurality of participation rewards that has not been given to the seconduser for the game event.
 2. The information processing system accordingto claim 1, wherein a number of rewards given to the user of theplurality of participation rewards that has not been given to the seconduser for the game event is based on a number of elapsed unit period(s)of the game event.
 3. The information processing system according toclaim 1, wherein when the game event has ended without competition ofall of the unit periods, the user is given, among non-given rewards,participation rewards that could not be given to the user even if theuser participated in all the unit periods associated with the gameevent.
 4. The information processing system according to claim 1,wherein at least one non-given reward(s) is given also to the user whouses an application in connection with the game event, wherein the userhas never participated in the game event during a period in which thegame event was held.
 5. The information processing system according toclaim 1, wherein the user is given participation rewards that areassociated with the unit periods, wherein the participation rewards arebased on a number of unit periods for which the user has participated inas part of the game event.
 6. The processing system of claim 1, whereinthe first ending condition is not based on participation in the gameevent by the multiple users.
 7. The processing system of claim 1,wherein the second ending condition is based on participation in thegame event by the multiple users.
 8. The processing system of claim 1,wherein the first ending condition is set to occur irrespective of userparticipation.
 9. The processing system of claim 1, wherein the firstending condition is having a threshold number of unit periods occur forthe game event.
 10. The processing system of claim 1, wherein the secondending condition is based on an attribute of a virtual game characterreaching a value.
 11. The processing system of claim 10, wherein howeach one of the multiple users interacted with the virtual gamecharacter comprises the game event data that is used to indicateprogress of the game event.
 12. A non-transitory computer-readablestorage medium having stored therein instructions to be executed by aprocessor of an information processing apparatus for providing a userwith a game event that is held in a virtual game space of a video gamein which multiple users participate, the instructions causing, whenexecuted by the processor, the information processing apparatus to:receive, from different ones of a plurality of computing devices thatare associated with different ones of the multiple users, game eventdata that indicates how a respective user has participated in thevirtual game space for the video game for the game event; update anadvancement status for the game event of the video game based on thegame event data that has been received, the game event being held over aplurality of unit periods that are tracked for the video game; causeparticipation data to be communicated to the plurality of computingdevices, the participation data including information about a pluralityof participation rewards to be given based on participation byindividual ones of the multiple users in the game event during differentones of the plurality of unit periods over which the game event is held,wherein each of the plurality of participation rewards are game elementsthat are usable within the video game by respective ones of the multipleusers; in accordance with participation in the game event by a firstuser of the multiple users, give the first user one of the plurality ofparticipation rewards that is associated with the unit period, of theplurality of unit periods, in which a timing of the participation by thefirst user is associated therewith; determine whether the game eventsatisfies a first ending condition or a second ending condition;determine that the first ending condition for the game event issatisfied and based thereon, end advancement of the game event; and whenthe first ending condition remains unsatisfied, determine that thesecond ending condition for the game event is satisfied and basedthereon, give a second user at least one of the plurality ofparticipation rewards that has not been given to the second user for thegame event.
 13. An information processing apparatus for providing a userwith a game event that is held in a virtual game space of a video gamein which multiple users participate, the information processingapparatus comprising a processor and a memory coupled thereto, theprocessor being configured to control the information processingapparatus to at least: receive, from different ones of a plurality ofcomputing devices that are associated with different ones of themultiple users, game event data that indicates how a respective user hasparticipated in the virtual game space for the video game for the gameevent; update an advancement status for the game event of the video gamebased on the game event data that has been received, the game eventbeing held over a plurality of unit periods that are tracked for thevideo game; cause participation data to be communicated to the pluralityof computing devices, the participation data including information abouta plurality of participation rewards to be given based on participationby individual ones of the multiple users in the game event duringdifferent ones of the plurality of unit periods over which the gameevent is held, wherein each of the plurality of participation rewardsare game elements that are usable within the video game by respectiveones of the multiple users; in accordance with participation in the gameevent by a first user of the multiple users, give the first user one ofthe plurality of participation rewards that is associated with the unitperiod, of the plurality of unit periods, in which a timing of theparticipation by the first user is associated therewith; determinewhether the game event satisfies a first ending condition or a secondending condition; determine that the first ending condition for the gameevent is satisfied and based thereon, end advancement of the game event;and when the first ending condition remains unsatisfied, determine thatthe second ending condition for the game event is satisfied and basedthereon, give a second user at least one of the plurality ofparticipation rewards that has not been given to the second user for thegame event.
 14. An information processing method executed by a computerconfigured to control an information processing system for providing auser with a game event that is held in a virtual game space of a videogame in which multiple users participate, the information processingmethod causing the information processing system to: receive, fromdifferent ones of a plurality of computing devices that are associatedwith different ones of the multiple users, game event data thatindicates how a respective user has participated in the virtual gamespace for the video game for the game event; update an advancementstatus for the game event of the video game based on the game event datathat has been received, the game event being held over a plurality ofunit periods that are tracked for the video game; cause participationdata to be communicated to the plurality of computing devices, theparticipation data including information about a plurality ofparticipation rewards to be given based on participation by individualones of the multiple users in the game event during different ones ofthe plurality of unit periods over which the game event is held, whereineach of the plurality of participation rewards are game elements thatare usable within the video game by respective ones of the multipleusers; in accordance with participation in the game event by a firstuser of the multiple users, give the first user one of the plurality ofparticipation rewards that is associated with the unit period, of theplurality of unit periods, in which a timing of the participation by thefirst user is associated therewith; determine whether the game eventsatisfies a first ending condition or a second ending condition;determine that the first ending condition for the game event issatisfied and based thereon, end advancement of the game event; and whenthe first ending condition remains unsatisfied, determine that thesecond ending condition for the game event is satisfied and basedthereon, give a second user at least one of the plurality ofparticipation rewards that has not been given to the second user for thegame event.
 15. A computing system for providing a user with a gameevent in which multiple users participate, the game event held in avirtual game space of a video game, the game event held over a pluralityof unit periods, the computing system comprising: a processor and amemory coupled thereto, the processor being configured to, when computerexecutable instructions stored in the memory are executed, performoperations comprising: receiving game event data, which is based onparticipation by different ones of the multiple users, that indicateshow the game event has progressed; obtaining participation data for afirst user of the computer system regarding how the first user hasparticipated in the virtual game space for the video game for the gameevent; receiving and displaying an advancement status for the game eventof the video game that is based on how the multiple users haveparticipated in the game event, the game event being held over aplurality of unit periods that are tracked for the video game;displaying participation data on a display that is coupled to thecomputing system, the participation data including information about aplurality of participation rewards to be given based on participation bythe first user in the game event during different ones of the pluralityof unit periods over which the game event is held, wherein each of theplurality of participation rewards are game elements that are usablewithin the video game by the first user; based on participation in thegame event by the first user of the multiple users, displaying that thefirst user has been given one of the plurality of participation rewardsthat is associated with the unit period, of the plurality of unitperiods, in which a timing of the participation by the first user isassociated therewith; based on a determination that the game eventsatisfies a first ending condition or a second ending condition;displaying that the first ending condition for the game event issatisfied and indicating that the game event has ended; and when thefirst ending condition remains unsatisfied, displaying that the secondending condition for the game event is satisfied and based thereon,displaying that the first user has been awarded at least one of theplurality of participation rewards that has not been given to the firstuser for the game event.